"New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common." -John Locke
Terms
Geocentric- This means "earth-centered". Ptolemy thought of this idea, believing that all the planets, stars, and sun revolved around the Earth instead of the sun.
Elliptical- This means "egg-shaped". It's used in reference to Johannes Kepler's discovery of the actual shapes of the planets' orbits. Previously, they had been thought to be perfect circles.
Heliocentric- This means "sun-centered". Nicholas Copernicus came up with the idea that the Earth and the other planets revolved around the sun and countered Ptolemy's commonly accepted geocentric theory.
Scientific Method- This term means a logical, systemic approach to the finding of a solution to a scientific problem. The scientific method is now used worldwide.
Deism- This term refers to the religious belief that says God created the world, the universe, etc, and lets it run according to natural law.
Tabula Rasa- An idea perpetuated by John Locke in the Enlightenment that every person was born with a mind uninfluenced by outside influences, a blank slate full of possibilities.
Laissez-faire- This means to let people do what they want. This idea was emphasized by Adam Smith, an Enlightenment writer who wrote The Wealth of Nations.
Inductive Reasoning- This term means reasoning from detailed facts to general principles. So, this is the reasoning "if it happens in one situation, it happens in all situations".
Philosophe-This term refers to a social critic, a philosopher, or an Enlightenment thinker. Examples of these could be Coltaire, Ptolemy, or Locke.
Rationalism- This term means the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge. Rationalists are intent on proving things, not just having faith that they are true.
Important People
Ptolemy- This was the philosopher that believed the Earth was the center of the universe. He was significant because this idea was so prevalent that later scientists were persecuted for having scientific evidence otherwise.
Nicholas Copernicus- was the first of the scientists that disproved Ptolemy's geocentric theory. He discovered that the Earth was not, in fact, the center of the universe and instead revolved around the sun. He also learned that the Earth rotated, causing the illusion of the sun going across the sky.
Johannes Kepler- He was another one of the scientists that helped discredit Ptolemy's theory. Johannes added to Copernicus' theory by discovering that the planet's paths through space were oval-shaped, not perfect circles as previously thought.
Andreas Vesalius- Inspired by Galen, Andreas was the person who started the study of human anatomy, and thereby energized the study of medicine. He would dissect human corpses and share his results with his fellow scientists so they could learn from his discoveries.
Galileo Galilei- Galileo Galilei was a scientist who used the telescope to study the planets in greater detail. He was persecuted by the Catholic Church because of his discovery that planets had irregularities. (First, the universe not being centered around Earth, then the orbits around the sun not being perfect circles; the planets couldn't be imperfect, TOO!)
John Locke- This man was one of the greatest influences of the Enlightenment. He believed that everybody was born with a blank mind, a blank slate. This means that we are born without bias, without preconceptions of what should happen.
Baron de Montesquieu- This French nobleman's idea is one we don't really think of as a brilliant idea- classifications of governments. He declared that there were three types of government: Republics, Dictatorships (Despotism), and Monarchies.
Voltaire- Voltaire was an Enlightenment philosopher who supported the idea of Deism. Because he was also a writer, he wrote a paper called Treatise on Toleration.
Adam Smith- Adam Smith was the writer of The Wealth of Nations. In this work, he emphasized the idea of laissez-faire, letting the people do as they wish. This idea allows greater rights of choice to people.
Galen- Galen was a Greek physician, a doctor, who started looking for better, more effective ways to heal people. He was the person who started the research into medicine and chemistry. He was the inspiration for Andreas Vesalius.
OverviewDuring the Middle Ages, lots of educated Europeans started to learn about the world around them. One was Ptolemywho came up with thePtolemaic system. He also came up with the geocentric universe idea. Later in 1543,Nicholas Copernicusfrom Poland defied Ptolemy and came up with hisheliocentricuniverse.Johannes Kepleralso destroyed the Ptolemaic system by using detailed astronomical data and observations. He showed that the planets' orbits around the sun were not circular as Copernicus said. They were in fact elliptical and when they got closer the sun, they went faster. Galileo Galilei got curious about what the planets were made up of. So he was the European to make regular observations of the heaves using a telescope. He published his discoveries in his book The Starry Messenger in 1610, which made Europeans more aware of the ‘new’ universe. All this went against the belief of Catholic Church, who then ordered Galileo to abandon this concept of the heavens. In spite of the Church’s point of view, most scientists still believed in the heliocentric universe.
Another scientist/ mathematician was Isaac Newton. He was credited for his whole argument for the universal law of gravitation. Newton had shown that the universal law can be mathematically proved. This created a new picture for the universe. A Greek physician Galen, who lived during the second century, is known to be one of the first people to begin a breakout in medicine and chemistry. But the anatomy of the 16th century was based on the works from Andreas Vesalius. He discussed what he had found out when he was dissecting a human body in 1543 in the book On the Fabric of the Human Body. People started inventing different techniques and reasons to prove the things around them actually exist. These included rationalism, inductive reasoning, and the scientific method.
The Enlightenment was the 18th century philosophical movement and was most influenced by Newton and John Locke. Locke argued in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding that every person was born with a tabula rasa, or a blank mind. The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were known as the philosophe. They were basically the leaders of the Enlightenment whose goal was to change the world. One such person was Baron de Montesquieu who was French nobility. He identified three kinds of basic governments: (1) Republics, (2) Despotism, and (3) Monarchies. Another philosopher was Voltaire who was known for his Treatise on Toleration. He supported the 18th century religious philosophy called deism. Denis Diderot also wrote during the Enlightenment such as the Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trades. This became a major weapon in the Philosophe’s war against the old French society. As the society changed, the economics did too. A doctrine became known to the people as laissez-faire, meaning to let people do what they want. Adam Smith was the one to emphasize this in his work, The Wealth of Nations. For More Information
If you want to learn more about medical advances throughout history, this site has a timeline of leaps in medical knowledge from 400 BC to 1984 AD. This includes scientists such as Andreas Vesalius and Galen.
If you want to learn more about Nicholas Copernicus, this site contains a description of his revolutionary theory, why it was important, and the effects of this discovery.
If you want to learn more about the development of the telescope, this site describes when and how the telescope was first invented, how it became a wide-spread device, and its history almost up to its modern development.
If you want to learn more about the development of philosophical concepts, this website goes through many philosophical concepts, from even before the enlightenment.
If you want to learn more about the scientific method, this website tells the steps of it. It also explains how they apply to real life.
If you want to learn more about the Enlightenment in general, this site is good. It summarizes most of the major people and events of the Enlightenment.
If you want to learn more about the Scientific Revolution in general, this site is for you. It has a summary of most of the major discoveries and theories of the Scientific Revolution.
If you want to learn more about Isaac Newton's life, this site has a biography of his life and his discoveries, like his development of the law of universal gravitation.
If you want to learn more about Andreas Vesalius' life, this site contains a full biography of his life, from his birth, to his discoveries, to his death.
If you want to learn more about the history of astronomical theory, this site contains a timeline of historical astronomical theories and mathematics, from the Hellenistic Chinese to Newton.
"New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common." -John Locke
Terms
Important People
OverviewDuring the Middle Ages, lots of educated Europeans started to learn about the world around them. One was
Another scientist/ mathematician was Isaac Newton. He was credited for his whole argument for the universal law of gravitation. Newton had shown that the universal law can be mathematically proved. This created a new picture for the universe. A Greek physician Galen, who lived during the second century, is known to be one of the first people to begin a breakout in medicine and chemistry. But the anatomy of the 16th century was based on the works from Andreas Vesalius. He discussed what he had found out when he was dissecting a human body in 1543 in the book On the Fabric of the Human Body. People started inventing different techniques and reasons to prove the things around them actually exist. These included rationalism, inductive reasoning, and the scientific method.
The Enlightenment was the 18th century philosophical movement and was most influenced by Newton and John Locke. Locke argued in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding that every person was born with a tabula rasa, or a blank mind. The intellectuals of the Enlightenment were known as the philosophe. They were basically the leaders of the Enlightenment whose goal was to change the world. One such person was Baron de Montesquieu who was French nobility. He identified three kinds of basic governments: (1) Republics, (2) Despotism, and (3) Monarchies. Another philosopher was Voltaire who was known for his Treatise on Toleration. He supported the 18th century religious philosophy called deism. Denis Diderot also wrote during the Enlightenment such as the Encyclopedia, or Classified Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Trades. This became a major weapon in the Philosophe’s war against the old French society. As the society changed, the economics did too. A doctrine became known to the people as laissez-faire, meaning to let people do what they want. Adam Smith was the one to emphasize this in his work, The Wealth of Nations.
For More Information